I spent most of last week laying low because of a lower back ache. In the big picture, this was the perfect time for such an encumbrance (if one must have one) for two reasons: 1) the weather was less than perfect and 2) my schedule cleared up so that I didn’t have a lot of obligations.
One evening I was able to knock off a number of things off my personal TODO list, which had been growing as fast as I’d been neglecting it (like weeds in my lawn). Both my dirty room and un-ironed clothes, if they were capable of thanks, would be grateful for an evening of quality time spent with them.
Ironing is not something I get excited about. To me, it’s work. The word “chore” takes on all the negative connotations one may conjure.
To facilitate time spent with the taxes of existence (other “taxes” include cleaning the bathroom, changing the car’s oil, picking up after roommates, etc.), I looked to find something a little more stimulating. TV was out of the question, since earlier that evening I suspended TV service for the summer. (I hadn’t watched TV since the season finales of 24, Lost, The Office, and House, and there isn’t much point in paying for something I'm not using.) But I needed something, and the tunes on the CD just weren't doing it for me.
Yay, for This American Life. I've missed a number of episodes recently, so this was a great time to catch up. I scrolled through the archives, judging each by its title, and innocently picked the one that sounded the most interesting: #328: What I Learned from Television.
Ah, the irony.